


Within a Second (Everything Changes)

by bug_from_space



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dubious Morality, F/M, Gen, M/M, Minor Character Death, Moral Ambiguity, Multi, Murder, OT4, Polyamory, Pre-Poly, Pre-Relationship, Self-Defense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-18
Updated: 2019-03-18
Packaged: 2019-11-24 01:16:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18159536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bug_from_space/pseuds/bug_from_space
Summary: Tim isn't sure what alerts him to the presence, but by the time he's aware that there was something there to be wary of, the disk is already flying, and then the body hits the ground.





	Within a Second (Everything Changes)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey... so I had this idea to do a thing where Z and Owens don't die, and Tim reacts more on instinct and kills the Widower. I may end up coming back to this in the future to add more, but for now it just kind of nicely dovetails into the canon, with some slight alterations. It isn't actually as dark as it could be, so there's that.

Distantly, Tim can hear Ra's' voice in the earpiece, and some part of him know he should reply but he can't quite bring himself to move, to answer. His eyes are fixed on the unmoving figure in front of him, rapidly bleeding out from the neck. One of his disks in the puddle forming from the blood. (It was his fault. He killed a man, to save the others. His team. And oh wasn't that a nice thought. A team again, after all the others died.)

And the worst part is that Bruce would be so disappointed. (No, not Bruce, he corrects himself.  _ Dick _ . Dick is Batman.) He might take Robin-- Red Robin from him, force him to stop being a vigilante. And look how well that worked out in the first place, he thinks, shaking slightly with what he wants to be a laugh, but instead just causes him to fall to his knees, slight tremors running coursing through his body as he does. He’s falling into shock.

Around him he can sense Z, and Owens, and Pru moving around him. One of them, poking him in the shoulder to see if he was going to respond. (Probably Pru, he thinks. She would.) He doesn't respond. Just remains staring blankly at the tone figure, the blood turning darker now as the oxygen leached from the body. (He’d dead, Tim knows, this blood is thick and dark. It’s the colour that paints nightmares of ambulances coming and being far too late.)  

A minute later he feels himself being picked up, and he curls into the warm chest. Z, he fills in. Pru wouldn't, and he can hear Owens from a few feet away, checking the pulse, an making sure he’s dead, then he's set in the car. The assassins talking above him, catching a few words; ‘unexpected’, ‘return’, ‘shock’. And then a prick in the side of his neck, and he’s asleep.

Tim's eyes snapped open in the dimly lit room. He was back at the Cradle then. Eyes catching on the familiar green cape, he let out a slight sigh. Ra's was standing in the doorway, one eyebrow raised slightly at the scene: Tim on the bed, with Z, Owens, and Prince crashed out on the pulled over couch beside. It didn't look particularly comfortable, but, he supposed, pushing back the wave of memories that quickly rose to the surface (Cassie, Kon, Bart-- gone, and even if they weren't they'd be so disappointed in him), it was almost like having a team again, like having a family. 

It was a weird thought, the idea that these three people had become the closest thing to him. They had made sure that he got back safe, and they had made him laugh, it was easy to forget sometimes that this was only supposed to be temporary. That at the end he wanted to royally piss of Ra's. (If he were a more honest man, he might admit he wasn't looking forward to returning home, to the disapproving looks from Dick, and the threats from Damian. Or any of the questions everyone would have. The idea of staying was tempting, especially after so very nearly losing them.) 

Ra's tilted his head a little, still looking amused at the group of them. Pru was leaning against Z with her legs tossed over Owens, and the other two were sleeping against the arms of the couch. It looked like it had been pulled over from the wall so they could look after him.  "I see you've finally decided to show your face." Tim says in lieu of a polite greeting, and Ra's looks unfazed by the lacking courtesy, (that bastard. He had nearly died-- had killed a man, and all he could do was look amused by them.) For all he’d been in contact with the Demon’s Head, he had never expected to actually see him. Ra’s was cautious, and usually remained in Nanda Parbat, to see him here, that was more than a little surprising. 

Humming contemplatively, he responded. “It seemed pertinent to the task at hand. It was an unfortunate twist of events that led you to this point, Detective.”

“Although not one you’re particularly against.” Tim said, slightly accusatory in the tone. (It was easier to be angry. Anger meant passion, and not shock. But that didn’t prevent him from thinking about what he would do.)

“No, I admit, I’ve been curious to see what would cause you to kill. It’s been dealt with though.” And that…. That was shocking. What did he mean, ‘dealt with’. Ra’s seemed to notice the confusion on the hero’s face. “The only people that knew of the events were you,” casting a long glance at the three assassins that were still asleep on the pulled over couch, “them, and myself. I took it upon myself to have some of my ninja dispose of the body.”

“I-- thank you.” Tim replies, noticing that he was still exhausted, the sedative must have been stronger than he realized and he yawned. If he’d been more awake he probably would have been more suspicious of Ra’s’ motives but he thought, already slipping back into sleep, maybe just this once it would be easier to let someone else handle the issue. 

“Sleep, Timothy, we can talk once you’ve awoken.”

 

* * *

 

It’s a few hours later when Tim wakes up again, this time, to the quiet noises of Z talking to Ra’s, with a few interjections by Pru and Owens. He opened his eyes, squinting slightly as his eyes adjusted to room. “Hey, I see you’re awake.” Owens said, cutting off whatever Ra’s was about to say. (And that’s a little satisfying).

“Yeah…” Tim responded, sitting up in the bed, and grabbing the glass that was passed to him, drinking down the beverage gratefully. The liquid easing some of the discomfort in his throat from hours of sleep.

“You’ve been asleep for about seventeen hours. I didn’t think we gave you that much.” Pru added, shifting to observe Tim. (It wasn’t that surprising Tim thought, he’d been running on barely eight hours of sleep over the last two weeks. His body needed it desperately.)

“What have I missed?” he asked, processing the information that he’d just been told, as Owens passed him another glass of water. Looking at Ra’s, he waited for an answer. 

“As I told you when, we’ve established who tried to kill the four of you. A person known as the Widower. His body has since been disposed of. As well we’ve learned he’s a member of what is called the Council of Spiders”

“Right…” Tim said, standing up and swaying slightly. Z reached out laying his hand on Tim’s hip, steadying him, and Tim took a step forward to sit down at the small table that was in the corner of the room, grabbing a strawberry as he sat down. “Okay.” Grabbing another piece of fruit, he considered the possibilities. This Council of Spiders tried to kill him, and his team. They had to die. (It’s a startling moment. He had been so secure in his convictions until now.) “They have to die.” and the unspoken ‘If I didn’t kill him, we would all be dead.’.

Around him he can see the shocked looks of Z, and Owens, and Pru, and the approving look Ra’s has. He had crossed the line, and they had tried to hurt his people. His mercy had died with Bruce. (For now, if only for now it had. It had happened, and he needed to keep going. He couldn’t stop, not here.)

“Of course, I assume you’ll request access to our computer systems?”


End file.
